3D bioprinted hydrogel models for the study and treatment of human liver disease

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Fully-funded PhD studentship on 3D bioprinted vascular branches reinforced with nanofibre mesh. This is a standard 3.5-year UK PhD. The lack of vascularization is the main bottleneck of bioprinting functional organs. This project aims at developing a vascular tree consisting of arteries, veins, and ureter, for artificial kidney development. The student will learn how to operate our novel home-built hybrid 3D bioprinter, which combines hydrogel printing with electrospinning. The student will make polymeric solutions for electrospinning and for bioprinting hydrogels, and work with cell cultures. The generated hybrid structures will be characterized by microscopy techniques (SEM, confocal laser scanning microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, etc.) and by assessing the mechanical performance. Within the project the student will use state-of-the-art characterization techniques. Half of the work will be carried out at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in St. Gallen, Switzerland, a material research institute belonging to the ETH domain (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology).